thầy

See also: thay, thây, thấy, and thẩy

Vietnamese

Etymology

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 師 (SV: sư). Doublet of sư. Feudal Han or Nom teachers were generally male, hence the strictly modern use for male teachers.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [tʰəj˨˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [tʰəj˦˩]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [tʰəj˨˩]

Noun

thầy • (柴, 偨)

1. (only in compounds) Buddhist monk; expert

   thầy cãi ― a lawyer

   thầy lang ― a practitioner of East Asian alternative medicine

2. (historical, now literary) a teacher

   Muốn sang thì bắc cầu kiều
   Muốn con hay chữ thì yêu lấy thầy

   Want to cross a river? Build a bridge
   Want your children educated? Show their teacher some love

3. male teacher

   Synonym: thầy giáo

4. (dialectal, Northern Vietnam) a father

   thầy mẹ/u ― parents

Derived terms

Derived terms

• thầy bà
• thầy bói
• thầy cô
• thầy đồ
• thầy giáo
• thầy lang
• thầy mo

 

Pronoun

thầy

1. I/me, your male teacher
2. you, my male teacher
3. he/him, that male teacher we're talking about
4. (dialectal, Northern Vietnam) I/me, your father
5. (dialectal, Northern Vietnam) you, my father
6. (dialectal, Northern Vietnam) he/him, your/my father

See also

• mẹ; u (“mother”)
• cô (“female teacher”)